


One Bottle at a Time

by MALLR4TS



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alcoholism, Angst, Comfort, Comforting, Drinking, M/M, Meltdown, a little hint of willscuella, breakdown - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26723494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MALLR4TS/pseuds/MALLR4TS
Summary: Javier finds a very drunk Bill crying to himself on the outskirts of the camp, and he's willing to comfort Bill and pull him out of the gutter.
Relationships: Javier Escuella/Bill Williamson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	One Bottle at a Time

**Author's Note:**

> this isn't strictly willscuella, but i'd say there's a lil sprinkle of that on this 
> 
> Tumblr and Twitter are @MALLR4TS

Javier sighs heavily when he comes across the much larger man. Bill's got his back pressed against the wall, sat on the boathouse docks round the back of Shady Belle. It's dark, but the sounds of muffled crying perked Javiers ears up during his shift on guard duty. The moon provides more than enough light, its reflection glistening against the empty bottle of whiskey on the floor, and the just-opened one in Bills hand. Bill keeps his head down, but he overheard Javier approaching, quickly wiping his eyes to try and cover some of his mess up. 

"Again?" Javier asks. There's a mix of concern and sternness to his voice.

Bill's quiet for a few moments before he lets out a "...yeah." 

Javier sighs again, propping his gun up against the boathouse walls before taking a seat next to Bill. Bill keeps his head down, the brim of his hat trying to cover his eyes, but the obvious trail of tears glisten over his cheeks. Javier tries his best not to stare, not wanting to make the other man feel uncomfortable. 

"You know, Bill..." Javier stops as he thinks about how to say this politely. "What you're doing, right now, is no better than what your father did," he tells him. 

"Yeah, I know," Bill sighs. 

Bill's always been worried that he'll turn out to be like his father, a raging alcoholic who drunk himself to death. It's a known fact that alcoholism can be inherited, and Bill's caught his case straight off his father. It seems when his father put the bottle down for the last time, Bill picked it up for the first time. 

Bill didn't even realize he was getting bad at first. He began drinking just to take the edge off, just to enjoy himself. But those excuses soon spiraled into coping mechanisms, and before Bill could even realize the path he was going down, it was too late. He was too far down it, drunk for weeks at a time, though the days always blur into one. 

"You're only hurting yourself here, Bill," Javier tells him. 

Bill finally lifts his head up so he can lean it back against the boathouse, his eyes flicking up to the sky. He looks exhausted, like he's been crying for hours, and he probably has. 

"I ain't sure how to stop," Bill admits, keeping his eyes away from Javiers. 

"I know it's hard. I've heard that you get the shakes and all that, but you gotta start somewhere, and just keep fighting it," Javier replies, his eyes looking over Bills frame, reading his body language. He only saw Bill like this a few days ago, in the same spot on the same shift with the same amount of liquor in his system.

"People keep tellin' me that you just gotta drink less, but it ain't that easy. I'm... I'm hooked on this stuff, 'n' if I don't have it then, well. You seen me when I ain't on it," Bill sighs.

"Yeah, you get aggressive," Javier corrects him. 

"Uh-huh," Bill nods. 

"Well..." Javier stops, trying to think of something, anything that'll help Bill. "How much have you drunk tonight?" Javier asks.

"That bottle, 'n' just started this one," Bill says as he lifts the opened bottle in his hand. 

"Okay. So next time you wanna drink, you limit yourself to one bottle. And the time after that, you have a little less, and so on," Javier tells him, trying his best to set a plan. 

"What if I go over it?" Bill asks. 

"I'll slit your throat," Javier jokes. 

"Hah. I wish you'd do that anyway," Bill laughs, though Javier knows he's not joking. 

"Come on, Bill," he says as he taps his arm. "You don't mean that." 

"I do... sometimes," Bill shrugs.

"Nah, come on. We'll get you off the stuff, then if you still feel like that, then maybe I'll slit your throat. You can see it as a mercy killing," Javier replies.

"Would you do that?" Bill asks, his eyes meeting Javiers, and Javier hates that he can see a tint of hope in them. 

"You know I couldn't kill you, Bill. As much as I want to," Javier replies, quickly looking away. "I think if it came to it, I'd help you escape death, not push you into it," Javier says as he leans his head back against the boathouse. 

"Really?" Bill asks, genuinely shocked. He watches Javiers face for any signs of lying, but there is none. 

"Yeah... I don't know why. You're a real dumbass, you know that, but... I dunno," Javier says as he waves his hand in front of him.

"Well, I wouldn't kill you neither," Bill tells him as he leans his head back also, the two of them looking out at the water. 

"That's good to know," Javier smiles. "Now, you gonna stop for tonight?" Javier asks. 

"Yeah, of course," Bill says as he surprisingly puts the cork back in the bottle.

Javier puts his hand out and Bill freezes, staring at the shorter man's hand. His eyes trail up his arm to meet his gaze. 

"Hand it over. I'm taking it back to camp with me," Javier says. 

Bill goes to say something but stops, giving Javier the bottle instead. He's pouting a little, but at least somebody cares enough to take the liquor from his hands, rather than sitting back and do nothing. 

"You coming back with me?" Javier asks as he stands up, picking up his gun in his other hand. 

"Nah. I gonna stay here for a little longer," Bill tells him. 

"You too drunk to walk, Bill?" Javier smirks. 

"Yeah," Bill shrugs. He doesn't want to risk getting up and instantly stumbling off the dock, straight into the Aligator infested water. And as much as Javier wants to see that happen, he won't push for it. 

"Alright," Javier smiles, shaking his head. He goes to walk off but Bill calls out after him. "Hm?" Javier hums. 

"Erm... Thank you," Bill mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to keep his eyes off Javier.

"Don't mention it," Javier tells him. He stands there a second longer, then finally turns and heads back to camp, hiding the bottle beside his own bedding so that if Bill wants it, he'll have to go through Javier first, and Bill knows by now not do to that.


End file.
